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If we’re actually going to fix public education in this city, it’s important to speak candidly and honestly.

We’ve proved that tiptoeing around problems and hoping they go away doesn’t work. Confronting challenges head on, with a sense of urgency, is the responsible thing to do.

With this in mind, I believe Metro Nashville Public Schools is in a state of crisis.

The evidence is clear. In two years, MNPS has more than doubled its number of low-performing schools on the state of Tennessee’s “priority” list, which identifies the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state. Our school system went from having six schools on the list in 2012 to, as of last week, 14 schools. Put differently: The number of students in exceedingly low-performing schools has risen from 2,260 to 6,272, according to enrollment data in the state’s Report Card.

The Metro school board should act decisively to confront this crisis.

I’m ashamed to admit that, during the past two years, the school board has not had a single conversation about persistently failing schools and how to turn them around. The reality is: Schools Director Jesse Register has been setting the agenda, and failing schools do not fit in management’s glossy narrative. It’s overdue time for the elected board to assert authority on behalf of students, parents and taxpayers.

Coming to grips with the facts is critical. Of the 14 low-performing schools on the state’s priority list, four were on the list in 2012: Bailey STEM Magnet Middle, Brick Church Middle, Buena Vista Elementary and Napier Elementary. By failing to turn around these schools during the past two years, MNPS has done harm to students and families.

Now, we’ve got 10 new entries on the priority list. Moreover, another nine schools are struggling with pronounced achievement gaps among English learners, economically disadvantaged kids and students with disabilities — including McGavock High School, which President Barack Obama recently visited amid much fanfare.

Bottom line: Following a few years of incremental gains, academic improvement in MNPS has plateaued and now we’re sliding backward relative to the rest of the state. The backslide comes despite paying $3.5 million to a school turnaround firm, the U.K.-based Tribal Group, whose recommendations Register largely ignored.

So what do we do at this point? The school board needs to develop a rapid-response plan to identify the capacity, expertise and leadership needed to rescue our 14 priority schools. As a starting point, let’s accelerate the board’s policy of inviting qualified charter school operators to help in turnaround efforts.

The Tennessee Charter School Center — the attack arm of the local charter movement — claims that publicly funded, privately run charter schools are a panacea for public education. If that’s the case, then the center should submit proposals to help turn around low-performing schools on the priority list. Let’s muster the courage to help our struggling schools, not turn our backs on them.

Our goal should be: no MNPS schools on the state’s priority list by the time it’s released again in 2016. We need to deal with this crisis on behalf of the 6,272 students in these 14 schools. They deserve the very best chance in life, and the school board should feel obligated to act with urgency.

Will Pinkston represents District 7 on the Metro Nashville School Board.